It is sometimes desirable to use components with high current requirements in portable electronic apparatus. Problems arise, however with driving high-current devices using common batteries. On the one hand, battery voltage must be sufficient to drive the high-current devices. On the other hand, the current requirements may be so high that there is a risk of damaging the batteries. An example is the use of powerful LEDs as flash elements in small cameras. Overall, this is a desirable implementation in order to reduce battery drain, reduce cost, and minimize device size compared to xenon flash systems. Commonly available Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries often used in such applications are limited in their voltage capacities, however, and are often incapable of withstanding the high currents required for driving the LEDs.
Due to these and other problems and potential problems, improved approaches for providing relatively high-current drivers for use with common battery power sources would be useful and advantageous contributions to the arts.